'Shame award' of little use to push officials to fulfill duty

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT in Taizhou, East China's Jiangsu province, has reportedly introduced a "snail" award for those officials who fail to press ahead with major projects or respond to the residents' concerns in time. This is not enough to punish incompetent officials, says Eastday.com:

To some, the "snail" award may seem to be both a punishment and encouragement to officials who fail or are unwilling to fulfill their duties, prompting them to improve their performance. But in fact, it will make little difference to the "prize winners" who will neither lose their jobs nor their pay, even though by winning the award they are clearly unsuitable for their position.

Maybe some officials will feel uncomfortable receiving the award, but this can be hardly called a proper punishment or incentive for them to do better. Instead, replacing them with those who are competent and willing to do their duty is a necessary and responsible move.